Taylor Vanlandingham’s aspiration to help others and combat social stigma led her to enroll in Wichita State’s communication sciences and disorders undergraduate program.

Vanlandingham developed her interest in speech-language pathology before deciding to attend WSU. Personal experiences in her family revealed the social stigma around people’s struggles with hearing disorders.

“It kind of breaks them off from their social groups, and I have had several family members with different hearing disorders, so that’s always interested me,” Vanlandingham said.

She said she loved how she could pursue her interests in the medical field while staying in her hometown of Wichita. The feeling of a close-knit community is something she really values.

Her parents also work in the medical field, and their experiences helped inspire Vanlandingham to follow a similar path.

“They’ve been very involved in my academics, and just kind of supported me through that,” Vanlandingham said. “I knew I kind of wanted to stay in the medical field.”

Vanlandingham said she loved the flexibility a career in CSD could offer compared to other careers in the medical field.

“I didn’t think I wanted to do anything fast-paced,” Vanlandingham said. “There’s a ton of flexibility; I could work in a clinic, I could work in a school or a nursing home. There’s different flexibilities with that, and I liked the balance of the medical field, but (it’s) also not always fast-paced.”

Experience at WSU

Vanlandingham embraced each challenge she faced as an opportunity to learn or find a supportive community to help her.

One of Vanlandingham’s closest friends, Annalie Heliste, is currently pursuing a Master’s of Arts in CSD, while also working as a graduate assistant coach for WSU’s volleyball team.

Heliste and Vanlandingham met through mutual friends before becoming roommates. Their shared experiences in the CSD program brought them together, as they supported each other through the difficulties they faced.

“That’s something we definitely connect on,” Heliste said. “It’s funny because I’m giving her the advice that she gives me when I’m hard on myself and vice versa.”

Vanlandingham originally entered the CSD program to study speech-language pathology, until WSU’s audiology program coordinator, Cynthia Richburg, influenced her to switch to audiology.

“Her classes are more challenging, and so it brought me into this, ‘Oh, I knew I needed to work hard,’ (mindset) and then it definitely began to be rewarding once I kind of got some of those concepts from her,” Vandlandingham said.

Richburg took notice of Vanlandingham’s enthusiasm.

“She was willing to ask questions. If she didn’t understand the concept, she needed the clarification and was willing to ask,” Richburg said. “Taylor has a smile on her face all the time. She’s a happy person all the time, and that sticks out in stressful college environments.”

Vanlandingham said she is grateful to many faculty members in the CSD program. Associate Professor Erin O’Bryan was someone Vanlandingham always knew was looking out for her.

“She is phenomenal; she’ll check in with me about ‘Oh, what happened? Have you found a place to live in Kansas City?’ Can she do anything to connect me with audiologists again?” Vanlandingham said.

The opportunities to network and build community will always be the most memorable part of her WSU experience, Vanlandingham said. Events like the Kansas Speech-Language-Hearing Association conference allowed her to expand her reach and meet other professionals.

Vandlandingham also serves as president of the WSU Student Speech-Language-Hearing Association, a student organization encouraging professional interests in the study of normal and disordered human communication.

Her time as president made her motivations for building those around her all the more clear. 

“She is a great leader that always looked out for everyone and went above and beyond,” Heliste said.

Richburg said most students who get more involved in the student association generally go on the speech pathology path in CSD, so it was exciting to see Vanlandingham take on so much as an audiology student.

Vanlandingham said she enjoyed getting outside of the classroom and getting hands-on experience at the Evelyn Hendren Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic because it allowed her to work directly with clients in a variety of scenarios.

She particularly enjoyed working with support groups for people with aphasia and their spouses. Aphasia is a disorder that affects speech and understanding of language, often caused by a stroke or injury. The impact of support groups and other work she helped with or observed was one of her favorite experiences, Vanlandingham said.

What’s next?

Vanlandingham will continue her education at the University of Kansas starting this summer. She said she really enjoyed her time at WSU, but wants to branch out to other opportunities.

She said she is excited about accessing other resources that she hasn’t used before and growing as an audiologist.

Richburg was very enthusiastic about Vanlandingham’s decision to go to another school for her graduate experience. She said it will help Vanlandingham learn how to interact with people beyond just their medical needs.

“She realizes people shouldn’t be practicing in a bubble or in silos where there is a full person to look at,” Richburg said.

Vanlandingham said she wants to mainly work with adults to help fight the social stigma and challenges that arise from hearing disorders.

The different approach to working with clients versus the time spent in the classroom is also something she said she is excited to experience and feel the change of pace.

WSU’s program has students work with clients early on, whereas KU has a slower approach with students first working with simulations and other methods before clients.

One thing she said she worries about is the high expectation she puts on herself, but the community and people she has built lifelong relationships with believe she is more than ready for the next step.

“She has such a gift in creating meaningful connections, and all of that will push her to the finish line of her goals,” Heliste said.

Richburg said she thinks Vanlandingham’s expectations for herself are one of her greatest strengths, not something to worry about.

“I don’t think she struggles with it. She might feel like she struggles with it because it feels uncomfortable. I think she does really well,” Richburg said. “The fact that she was willing not to go the safe ‘I know this university, I know these students and this would be the safe location,’ that she’s willing to go into an uncomfortable, unsafe situation so to say, speaks highly, in my opinion, of her.”

Vanlandingham’s infectious optimism and drive to better herself each day are constantly moving her forward. Her time at WSU may be coming to a close, but the memories and relationships she built will stay with her forever.